Autocross

[soul180]

Hey, I am thinking about getting into autocross...i don't know anyhting aobut it..i just love cars and want to do more with them...

What exactly is autocross??? is it runnign through a pilon course? I want to race, but not drag racing...i like cornerin and all...

I don't have a tunable suspension, it's tokico blues with arospeed coilovers..i dont' imagine they are what autocrossers want, but is it still do-able?

When I have my ls/vtec swap done in a month or so, would my car be classified really high and put me against experienced drivers??

I'm thinkin about buyin a 88-91 crx or hb and strippin' it and doing up the suspension on bolt ons and stuff, because my car is a show car, and i enjoy my air conditioning...and back seat....and stereo.....let me know....

thanks so much!

[JayFidizzy]

pm civicsiracer......he's an autocross racer. He can give you lots of info.

[soul180]

alrright,. i PM-ed him, i don't know if it worked or not...guess we'll see....


if anyone else knows the answers to my bleek questions, let me know

[VTEC_boi]

There are two kinds. Solo 1 and Solo 2. (i might have the backwards)

Solo 2 is through cones and stuff and doesn't require a roll cage and stuff.

Solo 1 is through a more road-race style track and is more "race-oriented". I think most people do Solo 2.

CivicSiRacer does Solo 1 I think..


there's my 2 cents i hope it's right..LoL

[soul180]

so solo 2 would be indy car style courses???? i'd love to do that, obviously i'd learn on solo 1...i'll have ot wait and talk to civicsiracer....hopefully he PM's soon

[CivicSiRacer]

Well first of all visit my site to get some of your questions answered: http://home.dejazzd.com/mlouie/autocross.html

And secondly your swap puts you in Street Mod. Basically street legal cars with swaps, turbos, superchargers, and DOT racing tires. I'm going to say that your 1st year or two is your learning curve. Get as much seat time as you can. Don't worry about winning. Most regions will have novice instructors that will be able to ride along with you, drive the car for you, or you can sit in the car as they drive. Also some regions have fun runs for less than a competition run. I usually do one competition run, and then 2-3 fun runs. So I might get a total of 12-16 runs in one day

But whatever you do don't go crazy on mods. Stick with what you have right now, because the more mods you do the tougher the class gets. Just like what my signature says.

Also to mention; you can spend $600 on a nice catback exhaust system and maybe gain .5 seconds on a 60 second course OR you can go to an Evolution School for $225 (http://www.autocross.com/evolution), an Autocross school (price varies), or to a Novice School (approximately $50) and gain 2-8 seconds on the same course. How do I know? I went to an Evolution School Phase I and II last month and my baseline run in the morning was 36.xxx seconds. At the end of the day I got down to a 34.0xx just by taking different lines.

Anymore questions feel free to ask.

Oh and I don't do Solo I right now I'm Solo II but I'm giving Solo I a try this summer. Need to find a roll cage

[3SGTE]

Originally posted by CivicSiRacer

But whatever you do don't go crazy on mods. Stick with what you have right now, because the more mods you do the tougher the class gets.


[/b]

Agreed. Alot of the mr2 guys always say go in there with a stock car, drive it hard, and appreciate the car for the sake of the drive. I have yet to actually go to one (I'm terrified of spinning out, and yes I have dont it before), but I'll have to agree with the quote:

"the best investment to your car is learning how to autox/road race"

HAVE FUN
Maurice

[onesojourner]

www.angelfire.com/emo/onesojourner

[CivicSiRacer]

The thing that is very different from drag racing mentality and autocrossing is drag racing allows you to do basically anything as long as it's Comp class, turbo class, etc...

These rules do not apply to autocross.

And for the beginner you want to learn what your car can do first before going faster. To go faster you have to be smoother. And once you're smoother on the course you can add more speed.

I taught at a Novice School this past weekend and I had one student who was always trying to go faster, and when I drove the car with him as a passenger he kept saying "Feels like we're going slower" But then I told him, notice that your head wasn't being jerked around, and prolly could carry a full cup of coffee in your lap"

Watching someone else in a 240SX: he was staying in first gear the whole time around the course and the car was diving then accelerating, and you could see the instructor getting sick

Then at the end of the day I drove some students cars and beat them all with their own car

[soul180]

i haven't had a chance to read both those web sites, but i am really interested in the school...i doubt there is one around my area...maybe in Vancouver, which is 4 hours away...but that would definitely be worth the drive!

[CXHatchback]

Originally posted by CivicSiRacer
Well first of all visit my site to get some of your questions answered: http://home.dejazzd.com/mlouie/autocross.html

Your site's awesome.

[soul180]

yea, you're site is awesome, thanks a lot


I just got off the phone, I'm trying to contact Ken Tubman in regards to the Phase 1 classes in Calgary, AB, in June. Hopefully it won't be really expensive...it's an 8 hour drive there...but i figure it'll be worth the drive to spend the weekend in the classes. I'm really excited.

CivicSiRacer...what would be a good car to start with? I'll use my civic for now, but when i get the engine swap, i'l have to get somehting different, somehting stock...are 240's good for autocross??? let me know....thanks again for all the help

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally posted by CXHatchback


Your site's awesome.

It's ok, but thanks. I need to add some more stuff to it. I wanted to make it less wordy than other sites, and simplier to understand than what I found on other websites.

[sweetcarz.com]

get rid of those Arospeed coils

[soul180]

u no like arospeed...hehehe, yea..they suck, but i've spent about $3000 cdn to do my suspension...i don't feel like changin anything else right now...but yea...i'd love some ground controls....